2008 Burma missionary kidnappings

The 2008 Burma missionary kidnappings occurred in 2008 when the Burmese Tatmadaw kidnapped eight American and British Christian missionaries from the Klaw Kbe Lo village as they provided humanitarian aid to the local Karen people. Ultimately, seven of the eight missionaries were rescued by a mercenary team and the KNLA.

In 2008, as the Saffron Revolution was crushed, SPDC 360th Light Infantry Battalion commander Major Pa Tee Tint carried out numerous atrocities against the Christian Karen people of eastern Burma, such as conscripting every man above the age of 12 from the Takheder village in the Papun district. His battalion proceeded to attack the village of Klaw Kbe Lo with mortars, flamethrowers, and assault rifles, massacring the villagers and capturing eight missionaries from Colorado. Around two weeks later, Pastor Arthur Marsh hired a team of five mercenaries to rescue the missionaries. Their boatman John Rambo helped them to stealthily free the missionaries from the Tatmadaw camp in a night raid, but four of the mercenaries under SAS veteran Lewis grew impatient and left with seven of the captive missionaries, while Rambo and mercenary "Schoolboy" stayed behind and rescued Sarah Miller, the last captive. The larger group of mercenaries and their share of the missionaries were captured by the Tatmadaw, who scurried out to find the silent perpetrators of the camp attack. Rambo, Schoolboy, and Miller later located the rest of the group, and, as Tint tortured the captives, Rambo stealthily approached the gunner of a gun truck, killed him, and commandeered the turret. He proceeded to fire on the Tatmadaw soldiers guarding the captives as Schoolboy provided sniper support, and several of the mercenary captives armed themselves; one of the missionaries was shot through the chest while trying to escape. In the ensuing battle, the outnumbered mercenaries managed to hold the Tatmadaw at bay, although mercenary En-Joo was killed by a grenade blast. As the mercenaries held off the Tatmadaw, KNLA rebels arrived to assist them in fighting the Tatmadaw, but a Tatmadaw gunboat sailed up the Salween River and used a flamethrower to kill at least five KNLA fighters and the mercenary Sanchez. Rambo was able to use the turret to kill those aboard the gunboat, while KNLA leader Myint used a rocket launcher to destroy it. The KNLA used mortars and small arms fire to finish off the Tatmadaw soldiers, and Rambo cornered Tint as he attempted to flee, stabbing him through the waist with a machete and disemboweling him. With all of the Tatmadaw soldiers dead, the missionaries were escorted to safety in Thailand by Rambo, and the KNLA celebrated their victory over the government soldiers.